A new addition to Lyoko
by JerlitaFanGirl
Summary: Aelita and her friends become best friends with Ashleigh Solovieff, Aelita's roommate. She ends up going out with Odd. Things go great, but then she finds out their major secret. Upset and hurt, she dumps him, and disowns the gang. Will they find a way to gain her trust and friendship back? JxA UxY OxOC
1. The New Girl

"Ms. Stones, this is Ashleigh Solovieff, your new roomate," Mr. Delmas introduced formally as he gestured for Ashleigh to step into her new room. Aelita looked up from the book she was reading and smiled politely.

"Hi," Aelita greeted.

"Hey," Ashleigh responded, setting down her suitcases.

"Well, Ms. Stones, when you're done, would you mind giving Ms. Solovieff a tour of Kadic?" Mr. Delmas asked.

"No problem, sir," Aelita accepted.

After Mr. Delmas left, Aelita and Ashleigh got to know each other. Ashleigh was related to Milly Solovieff, although Aelita could already tell since they both looked so much alike. She is in eigth grade, the same as her, and dresses nothing like Milly. Aelita realized that Ashleigh wore her red hair in candy curls, and shhe wore a red dress that embraced her curls. She was a dressy person, unlike Milly, who was a normal-clothed girl. Ashleigh was born in May, and her favorite color was blue, pink and purple, and she ABSOLUTELY hated Orange. After Ashleigh finished unpacking her belongings, she inhaled a breath of relief and stretched out on her new bed. Aelita giggled and shook her head, earning a strange look from Ashleigh.

"What's so funny?" Ashleigh questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"We have class in five minutes, and you look ready to take a nap," Aelita answered, stifiling her laugh.

Ashleigh groaned and face-palmed herself. "Dang! Can't I get any rest?" she muttered to herself.

"Nope, now come on. We have Mrs. Hertz."

"Who?"

"Our Science teacher," Aelita stated simply.

"Oh, great. A boring class to start off the day," Ashleigh murmured,

"Well, no. Mrs. Hertz is an interesting teacher. Besides, I'm sure you'll like her class better than Gym class."

Ashleigh's eyes darkened, and Aelita swore she saw a black aura come out of her.

"Gym? So I can get all sweaty and icky? Yuck!" Ashleigh spat.

Aelita burst out in a giggle fit, covering her mouth to tame the laughter. "I'm sorry," she said after recieving a glare from Ashleigh. "You should just see your face."

Ashleigh smirked and pushed Aelita out of the dorm. "C'mon. Let's go to this "interesting" class," Ashleigh mocked, quoting the word interesting.

During Science class, Ashleigh was bored out of her mind. Mrs. Hertz was lecturing the class about their poor grades on a "Friction" test that they all failed, apart from Aelita and Jeremie. Ashleigh cracked a slight smile, happy that she didn't take the test. She scanned the room randomly. and laid eyes on a blonde boy with purple streaks. Their eyes met, and he winked. Ashleigh nervously smiled and hastily turned around, burying her face.

"What's the matter?" Aelita asked.

"There's a cute boy behind me, and we made eye contact. I-I think I'm in love," Ashleigh mumbled.

Aelita silently laughed and whispered, "that's just my friend, Odd. Would you like to meet him and my friends after class?" Aelita offered.

Ashleigh froze, but nodded in agreement. She slowly looked back to see Odd raising his eyebrows up and down in a flirtacious way.

After class, Yumi, Ulrich, Jeremie, and Odd were sitting at their usual bench, chatting driftlessly. Aelita and Ashleigh trotted up to them, but Ashleigh lagged a few steps behind Aelita.

"Hey, guys. This is my new friend Ashleigh. Ash, this is Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremie, and Odd," Aelita introduced, motioning towards Odd.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Yumi spoke, smiling.

"Hey," she said to all of them, but mainly to Odd.

"Ashleigh, weren't you in our Science class?" Odd asked, clearly trying to start a conversation.

"Yep. I saw you wink at me," she pointed out with a faint blush.

"Plain old Odd," Ulrich joked.


	2. The gym class incident

After the gang had their meet-and-greet, they decided to head off to lunch. By then, Ashleigh knew the whole school in and out: her dorm, the guys dorms, the classrooms, the gym, the lunchroom, even the principle's office. What she didn't know was that there was a creature loose, and her name was Sissi. So the group got their lunch and sat at their usual lunch table, engaged in a conversation.

"I studied really hard for Mrs. Meyer's pop quiz, but she still failed me!" Odd whined as he picked at his unappetizing looking broccoli.

"That's because you drew a picture of Dr. Shrank from The Hospital Of Horrors," Aelita pointed out.

"But still! You'd think a Math teacher would at least know true talent when they saw it!"

Just then, Sissi trotted up to the gang, her head raised high. "Well, if it isn't the five spazzes of the West and their little side kick," she remarked, referring to Ashleigh, who scoffed.

"Hey, where's the rest of your shirt?" Ashleigh asked, pointing at Sissi's short pink skirt. The gang burst into laughter, causing Sissi to steam up and storm off.

"Hey, nice come back. For once, I ran out," Odd admitted with a smirk, causing Ashleigh to blush slightly.

"Oh, w-well it's no problem," she sputtered.

"Well, I'm going to my room to, uh, study. Aelita, you coming?" Jeremie asked as he stood up.

"Sure," she agreed as she stood up and lingered behind Jeremie. Before she left, she turned to the rest. I'll catch up with you guys after lunch. Bye!" And with that, Aelita ran to catch up to Jeremie.

"Yeah, I left my text book at home. I have Italian class next and I'll get killed if I don't have my book. See you later," Yumi informed as she stood up and walked out of the lunch room.

"This lunch is disgusting anyway. I'm going to go to my room and chill out for a few," Ashleigh said as she stood up and left.

As Ashleigh walked down the hallway to reach her dorm, she ran into Sissi.

"Watch where you're going, string bean!" Ashleigh snapped, shoving Sissi aside. Sissi growled and turned around, walking away in defeat. As she reached her door, she found a white box wrapped in a velvet bow just sitting in front of the door. She walked over and retrieved it, admiring the wrapping. It said "To: Aelita." "Maybe I could just take a peek,' she wondered to herself. She scanned the hall, and as soon as the coast was clear, she darted into her room, shutting the door quietly. Unwrapping the box, she sat on her bed and pulled out the item. It was a pink bracelet with sparkles on it. Ashleigh's chocolate brown eyes lit up, as she put it on. But as soon as she heard footsteps, she flung the box in her bag and sat up.

"Hey," Aelita greeted as she stepped in her room. "Whatcha got there?"

Ashleigh sighed, unable to keep a secret. "This was a gift for you. It was cute and I just wanted to try it on-"

"No," Aelita interceded with a smile. "The color is cute, but I'm not a big fan of bracelets. You keep it."

Ashleigh's eyes lit up again, but this time with radiance. "Oh, thank you!" she beamed as she embraced Aelita in a friendly-manner

"No problem! Now c'mon, we have gym class."

Gym class started, but for everyone, it felt like hours. Everyone was sweating from the heat. Everyone but Jim. Everyone had a deadpan mood, but Jim had an encouraging mood. Ashleigh began to feel dizzy, so she started to drink her water. First in sips, then in gulps. But that didn't help at all.

"Solovieff, start us off with rock-climbing for today!" Jim demanded, motioning for her to come forward. She unwillingly obeyed, and began climbing. But, the world began spinning, and so she immediately passed out, hitting the mat below. Everyone gasped and surrounded her, concerned and scared.  
"Alright, alright! Back up and give her some space!" Jim demanded as everyone scrunched back. Ashleigh opened her eyes, and no one but Aeita saw the X.A.N.A sign in her eyes.

"I'm fine.. I just forgot to breathe," she lied, getting up and walking out. When she left, Jim resumed class.

"Isn't it weird how she just fainted and walked out like nothing happened?" Odd questioned in disbelief.

"She was possessed by X.A.N.A," Aelita whispered. "I saw her eyes. The X.A.N.A symbol.. It was there!"

"So how did X.A.N.A do it? He can't just directly attack someone unless..."

Aelita gasped. "The bracelet! It was an anonymous gift to me, but I let her have it because I don't like bracelets!"

"Aelita! How could you do that?" Jeremie whispered in anger.

"It was an accident!" Aelita spat angrily.

"When you get anonymous gifts, you don't take it! You should know that by now!" Jeremie barked.

Aelita's eyes watered up, but she turned away. "Fine," she murmured.

"Wait, Aelita, I'm sorr-"

"We need to get to the factory before X.A.N.A takes her to Lyoko!" Yumi intereceded, stopping the argument.

"She's right. You two can fight later, but right now, our secret is at stake," Ulrich agreed.


	3. The XANA Attack

The gang darted for the factory as if their lives depended on it. in fact, Jeremie was actually in the lead, much to everyone's suprise. Once they reached the sewer's, they each scurried inside.

"Oh no! She must be in Lyoko by now!" Jeremie exclaimed as he struggled to ride his scooter.

Once they reached the factory, they slid down the rope and tried to get to the elevator, but 'Ashleigh' jumped down from the top, blocking the elevator entrance.

"You guys go ahead. I'll handle her," Yumi spoke as she got into her Lyoko fighting stance. The others quickly dashed into the elevator, heading to the lab.

"Good luck, Yumi," Ulrich said as the elevator door shut and went upwards.

"Alright, X.A.N.A, it's just us now," Yumi declared.

"Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich," Jeremie said as he began the transition. "Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ulrich." Jeremie hit a key on the keyboard. "Vitualization!"

A few seconds after they appeared, they hit the ground and stood up. They were in the Mountain Sector of Lyoko.

"The activated tower is just to your right at 60 degrees," Jeremie informed as he leaned back in his seat.

"Do you mind giving us our rides, Einstein?" Odd question impatiently.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Jeremie apologized as he brought up the vehicles. A few seconds later, the Overboard, the Overwing, and the Overbike appeared.

"Thanks," Ulrich said as they hopped onto their vehicles and moved forward.

"Oh no, three blocks spotted north," Jeremie informed.

"I'll handle them," Ulrich insisted as he whirled around and shouted, "super sprint!" which instantly destroyed a block by hitting it in the eye.

"One down, two blockheads to go," Ulrich counted.

"Let me handle one," Odd demanded as he hit a U-Turn on his Overboard. "Laser Arrow!" he yelled as a red beam drifted out of his fist, devirtualizing a block.

"Princess, would you like to take out the last one?" Odd asked Aelita, who nodded.

"Energy Field!" she exclaimed as a pink beam flew from her hand, killing the final block.

"Nice one you guys!" Jeremie praised as he threw his hand up in a cheery way. "Now hurry to the tower. I'm not sure what condition Yumi's in."

'Ashleigh' narrowed her eyes at Yumi as she jump-kicked towards her face, to which Yumi dodged. Yumi kicked Ashleigh and sent her flying backwards. Ashleigh hit the floor, and Yumi, thinking she defeated her, ran as fast as she could to the elevator. As it went up, she sighed with relief. When it reached the lab, 'Ashleigh' appeared, zapping Yumi backwards. Yumi struggled to get up, which resulted in her being flung to the other side of the lab by an electrical force from X.A.N.A.

"Guys, I'll be back. I have to deal with a guest," Jeremie notified as he threw down the headphones.

"Jeremie?" Aelita called from Lyoko.

"Something's going on. Odd, devirtualize me," Ulrich demanded.

"Okay, you said it, not me. Laser Arrow!" Odd shouted, devirtualizing Ulrich in a heartbeat. As Ulrich appeared in the scanner, he groaned in pain.

"Ow, that hurted!" he exclaimed quietly. He heard screams coming from the Lab, so he quickly ran for the elevator. When he entered the Lab, he saw two things. Yumi unconscious in the corner, and Ashleigh lifting Jeremie up with electricity. Without thinking, he charged towards Ashleigh, knocking her down. Jeremie, dazed, sat up and looked around.

"Jeremie, help them out in Lyoko. I'll handle her!"

Jeremie obeyed and went back to the computer.

"Aelita, Odd, you two need to step on it!" Jeremie snapped in frustration.

"Why don't you try stopping her, genius?" Aelita shot back

"Okay, enough! You two are supposed to be lovers, not enemies!" Odd shouted half-jokingly, causing Aelita and Jeremie to blush.

"I'm sorry, Aelita. Alright, I'm going to stop her," Jeremie said.

"You have to take the bracelet off," Aelita informed.

"Okay. Wish me luck."

Jeremie got up to see Ulrich and Yumi cowering in the corner, trying to avoid being shocked. So he simply shook his head and yanked the bracelet off, stopping her. Her eyes went back to normal as she slumped forward.

"Way to go, Jeremie," Yumi cheered.

"Actually," Ulrich interceded as he pointed to the screen. "Aelita deactivated the tower. She saved us, not you," Ulrich explained flatly.

"Oh," Jeremie said, feeling stupid. "I'm bringing you guys in now. We have to carry sleeping beauty back to her room before she wakes up."

Ashleigh awoke with a throbbing headache. The last thing she remembered was falling off the rock climbing in Gym class, and now she was laying in her bed surrounded by her friends.

"What happened?" she asked suspiciously.

"After you fell down and fainted, we took you back to your room to lie down," Jeremie lied.

"Wow, that's crazy. Thank you," Ashleigh chuckled.

"Um, I know this is sudden, but.. Do you wanna go for a walk later?" Odd asked.

"Sure," Ashleigh hastily accepted.


	4. Some 'best friends'

It's been a month since Ashleigh and Odd hooked up. Suprisingly, Odd was actually interested in her. They had so much in common; they both love Hospital of Horrors, Subsonics, and both hated Sissi. But, she still didn't know about X.A.N.A or Lyoko, even though her and Odd made a promise to tell each everything. Unfortunately, that was one secret Odd couldn't spill. The good news was that their relationship was going smoothly. Sadly, Yumi and Ulrich were too timid to make a first move, and the same goes for Aelita and Jeremie.  
Ashleigh gathered her items out of her dresser for her morning shower (i.e toothbrush, feminine products, comb, brush, etc) and headed for the door. But when she heard familiar voices, she froze.

"X.A.N.A is becoming stronger! We can never make it to the tower with Ashleigh around all the time," Jeremie pointed out.

Ashleigh grimaced and leaned in, eager to hear more.

"But at least she doesn't know about X.A.N.A, or about how he possessed her and used her to hold us back!" Odd defended.

"We just have to keep making up excuses to slip away when X.A.N.A attacks," Jeremie remarked in frustration.

'So they lied. Some friends,' Ashleigh thought as she listened for more.

"She's our best friend. She's trustworthy and nice. Don't you think it's time to tell her about Lyoko? After all, we've know her for a month now," Aelita interceded.

"How about we tell your 'best friend' how you lied about being Odd's cousin!" Jeremie snapped, not even realizing what he said.

Aelita's eyes watered as she bawled up her fists. "Hey, don't you forget that it was your idea, genius!" she spat as she stormed off, tears wandering down her cheeks. "I wish I never met you!"

Jeremie sighed and angrily mumbled, "why do I always say the wrong things!" He turned around to go after her, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Let her cool off. I bet you're the last person she wants to see right now."

Ashleigh backed away from the door, taking in what she just heard. Had her own best friends been lying to her? And more importantly, had her own boyfriend been lying to her, but try and play innocent to her face? She couldn't believe it. Angry and confused, she opened the door and walked slowly to the showers, thinking about her relationship with her friends..and Odd.

Who was this 'X.A.N.A?' Was he so bad that they had to lie to her? Why couldn't they just be honest about the gym incident? What was a 'Lyoko', and if she was such a burden to them, why didn't they just tell her straight up? She was so into thought, that she nearly ran into Sissi.

"Hey! Maybe where you come from it's O.K to bump into people, but at Kadic, it's NOT!" Sissi barked, glaring coldly at Ashleigh.

"You're far beyond the last person I want to see," Ashleigh muttered, shoving Sissi aside and stepping into the showers.

"I wonder what's gotten into her," Sissi murmurmed as she shook her head and walked off, her nose held high in the air.

All day, Ashleigh sat away from the group, deep in thought. Odd occasionally tried to talk to her, but Ashleigh just got up and left. She was still hurt and upset, but the gang didn't know that she eavesdropped on them. Aelita gave Jeremie the cold shoulder, leaving Jeremie feeling worse than ever. Everytime he tried to apologize, she made up an excuse to leave. Odd was concerned about his relationship with Ashleigh, while Jeremie was concerned about his friendship with Aelita.

"Did I miss something?" Yumi asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Ulrich agreed. "And where's Ashleigh? I haven't seen her all day."

"I think she's mad at me," Odd admitted in a low whisper. "Everytime I try to talk to her, she disses me."

"You should go talk to her, again, before you really lose her," Yumi pointed out calmly.

"Okay," Odd agreed as he stood up from the table and dashed out of the cafeteria. Once he reached outside, he spotted Ashleigh sitting on their usual bench, sobbing her eyes out.

"Ashleigh, what's-"

"Get away from me!" she spat, jumping up and backing away. "You lied to me. I heard your whole conversation this morning. Who's X.A.N.A? What is a 'Lyoko'? Why did you lie to me about what happened to me in the gym? And why did you lie about you and Aelita being cousins?"

Odd stared at her in shock as he tried to search for words. He held her hand to prevent her from running, but she drew back.

"Let me explain-"

"No, Odd, if that's even your real name! I hope you can find a new girlfriend because we are DONE!" she yelled, running away. Odd let a tear fall as he ran back to the cafeteria. He walked up to the table and sat down, burying his face.

"Odd? Are you okay? What happened?" Aelita asked.

"She knows," was all he said.

"Who knows what?" Yumi questioned in a confused tone.

"Ashleigh knows everything," Odd confessed, earning a gasp from the gang.

"Everything?" Yumi repeated. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. She broke up with me and said she never wants to speak to me again." Odd stood up and began walking away, but Ulrich pulled him back.

"Odd-"

"Just leave me alone, will you!?" Odd snapped as he darted away.

Aelita's eyes watered up as she struggled to hide a tear drop. "This is all my fault.." she mumbled.

"No, Aelita, it's not" Jeremie denied.

"I feel so bad. Jeremie, she will never forgive us unless we explain to her what's going on," Yumi spoke softly.

"We can't risk our secret just because we lost our friend!" Jeremie defended.

"Then do it for Odd!" Yumi spat. "He's our friend, and we're not losing him!"

Jeremie nodded in agreement. "I-I need to go think about it." And with that, he stood up and walked out with his head down.


	5. Diary Entry

Dear Diary,

Ashleigh hasn't spoken to me in a while. Actually, it's been two days. She seems to hold a grudge. Jeremie and I are still trying to work out a way to explain to Ashleigh about Lyoko. I mean, how could you tell your best friend that you've been secretly been fighting an evil supernatural named X.A.N.A in a virtual world called Lyoko? How do I explain to her my past life? Two days ago, I've cried all day and night. Launching a return to the past is something Odd and I refuse to do. Odd doesn't want to do it because he doesn't want to live with the guilt, and I don't want to do it because I don't think it's fair to hide such a secret from my new best friend. But I do think it's unfair that she's pressuring Odd to tell her everything. In some relationships, it's okay not to tell each other everything. That's what keeps a relationship fresh, at least that's what Jeremie told me. She has avoided our group for a while now. I mean, I want us to be friends again, but it's not a big deal. She's acting as if she's the only person we are lying to! I feel so bad for keeping this secret, but if we tell everyone, we may all get expelled.. Or worse. Get sent to prison. I'm thinking of bring Ashleigh to the factory and virtualizing her onto Lyoko, so she can finally trust us again. Poor Odd.. He's taking this break up really hard. He hasn't ate much, or spoke much. When X.A.N.A launches an attack, he barely wants to go to the Factory anymore. I just want to put this all behind us.. But of course, Jeremie is being as stubborn as a mule. He won't risk exposing Lyoko to our own best friend! How self-centered can he be? I just hope all of this can be over so we can all just be the best of friends.

-Aelita Stones.


	6. The Choice

Odd pondered all day and night. Never ever has he felt so shallow and.. well, heartbroken. But he came to the realization that this situation wasn't about him and his feelings. This whole thing was about Ashleigh. Although he was hurt inside, he still thought Ashleigh was overreacting a bit. Okay, a lot. I mean, who would EVER get furious at someone about something, then run off and not give that person a chance to explain? Ashleigh was so backwards! After days of thinking, Odd came down with the conclusion that it was time to let Ashleigh go. Sure, it was painful and hard to accomplish, but it was best for her. Just as he was deep in thought, he heard a rap on the door. Before he had a chance to tell the person to go away, they entered. It was Jeremie, Yumi, Aelita, and Ulrich. Aelita came over and sat down on the bed next to Odd. Placing her hand on his knee, she said, "Odd, we know how hard this is for you. So we did some thinking."

Odd flashed a quick glance at her before looking back down at his knee. "Okay, I agree. What did you guys come up with?"

They all nervously looked back at each other, not quite sure how to break it down to him. Finally, Jeremie managed to face Odd. "We have to wipe out her memory."

Everyone turned on Jeremie, flashing him glares before Odd spoke up. "WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AN EINSTEIN, BUT THAT IDEA WAS BEYOND STUPID!" he hollered as he jumped up and ran up to Jeremie, but Ulrich and Yumi held him back.

"Yeah, Jeremie," Aelita agreed. "That's not the idea we agreed on. We agreed to show her Lyoko so she can finally know our secret."

Jeremie shook his head sadly as he calmly pushed his glasses up with his index finger and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I thought about that. It's way too risky. What if she decides to blurt out our secret to the whole world? Then we would get expelled, and then X.A.N.A wins, hands down."

"I have been dating this girl for a month! I know for a fact that she is no snitch!" Odd yelled as he pointed a finger to Jeremie's chest.

"Y'know, Jeremie's got a point," Yumi admitted as she put her hand on Odd's shoulder. "As much as I hate to admit this, she's actually tearing this group apart. Have you noticed how heartbroken Odd's been? And have you also realized how much Aelita and Jeremie have been fighting lately? Look, this nonsense needs to stop. Launching a return to the past won't help at all, so wiping out her memory is the only way to go."

"Yumi, just stop, ok?" Ulrich growled as he fixed his gaze on Yumi. "Everytime we all vote on something, you always have to be the one to vote against us. Like that time when everyone voted yes for William to be in the group, but you voted no. Can you just stick on our side for once?

Yumi's eyes widened in shock as she took in every word Ulrich said. As soon as he saw her tear up, he immediately regretted everything he said.

"Wait, Yumi, I'm-"

Yumi didn't want to hear it, so she just departed, leaving Ulrich under a black cloud of guilt.

"Well, what do we do now?" Ulrich asked, still upset from what he said to Yumi.

"We have to do it," Jeremie concluded, walking towards the dorm door. But Odd jumped in front of the door, preventing Jeremie from leaving. "No, there's gotta be another way!"

Aelita sighed and stood next to Jeremie. "I guess he's right. I hate to see how bad she's hurting you, Odd. Besides, you look as if you'll break from all this grief."

Odd exhaled sharply before giving in. "Fine, but I'll never forgive you for this, Einstein."

"I understand. Now, somehow you all have to persuade Ashleigh to get into one of the scanners. Once that's completed, I can launch an analysis that will completely wipe out Ashleigh's memory, therefore-"

"Okay, we get it. If we wanted a lecture, we'd tell you," Odd snapped as he stormed out of the dorm.

"Alright, Jeremie. I'll come to the factory with you," Aelita stated as she stood by the door.

"Okay. Ulrich, you and Odd bring Ashleigh to the factory. Aelita and I will head over to the factory."

Ulrich nodded in agreement as he darted to the girls hallway. As he cracked open Aelita's door, he saw Odd on his knees, pleading for her to follow him.

"I know you're furious with me, but if you would please trust me this once. I want to show you Lyoko, and who X.A.N.A is. Please, just follow me," he pleaded hopefully.

"Okay, but I swear if this is some trick-"

"It's not. Come on my sweetheart, just follow me," Odd demanded politely as he held her hand and guided her to the factory.

Once at the factory, Ulrich and Odd directed Ashleigh to the scanners.

"Now go on in there and just wait," Odd instructed. Ashleigh nodded in understandment as she obeyed. She then watched as Odd and Ulrich departed from the room.

"Okay Jeremie. It's done," Odd informed painfully.

"Alright. Aelita, it's time." Jeremie then pressed a button, closing the scanner door shut.

Jeremie began furiously typing away at the keys, and when he was done, he almost pushed a button. Aelita noticed that there were two buttons: Materizalize, and Memory Extract. Without thinking, she shoved Jeremie out of the way and hit Materialize, instantly causing Ashleigh to appear on Lyoko.

"Aelita! Look what you've done!" Jeremie shouted angrily.


	7. Confession Time

Words could not explain how betrayed Jeremie felt at that moment. He actually thought Aelita would just stick by his side and let him work his magic. But no, she went and hit that key. Realization hit him as he noticed that Ashleigh was on Lyoko.

"I'm sorry, Jeremie. I just couldn't let you wipe out her whole memory! I mean, what if everyone decides to ask questions, huh? Just like they did to William," Aelita explained as she crossed her arms and shot her best glare towards Jeremie.

"You're such a fool! How come you always manage to make a mistake! I wish I never turned on that supercomputer!" Jeremie confessed, not even realizing what he said. Aelita's eyes welled up with tears as she broke out in a sob fest, covering her eyes to hide her tears.

"Princess, I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't mean that-"

"Just leave me alone!" Aelita lamented as she bolted to the elevator and hit the button, making it close and go down.

Jeremie slammed his fist down on the keys in anger and frustration. How could he ever tell Aelita how he felt about her if he kept making her sad? Everytime he tries to make her feel better, he makes her cry. He felt so useless and pathetic. He would have to go after her, but only after he got Ashleigh back. As he looked at the keyboard, he noticed a dent in one of the keys.

"Oh, no!" Jeremie gasped as he looked at the screen.

"What?" Ulrich demanded as he glanced at the screen, and not seeing anything, looked back at Jeremie in confusion.

"When I got mad, I accidentally hit a key that I wasn't supposed to, therefore causing interference with Ashleigh's code."

"And?" Odd pressed on, not really seeing the point.

"I accidentally glitched her."

Odd's eyes widened, but he still didn't get it a bit. "Glitch?"

"She can't leave Lyoko, unless I enable a program that I downloaded weeks ago that will reboot anyone's formal genetic code."

"Okay, can you translate that to English?" Ashleigh asked through Lyoko.

"Um, If I launch a program, it can reboot your whole profile, and you'll be glitch-free."

"Nice going, nerd! Now I'm stuck in this place," Ashleigh shouted.

"Just hang on. I'm sending Odd in there now."

"What about me?" Ulrich complained as he threw his arms up.

"Uh-uh, you go get Yumi. I'll call Aelita."

"Why can't I just call Yumi?"

"Because I seriously doubt she'll answer to your call."

Ulrich growled as he silently walked over to the elevator with Odd. They exchanged a quick glance before shifting their gaze away.

She had enough. All Jeremie did was yell at her about her careless mistakes. It wasn't her fault that Ashleigh became her new roommate. It wasn't her fault that Ashleigh overheard their conversation, and it sure enough wasn't her fault that Jeremie turned on that supercomputer! So why did Jeremie say those hurtful words to her? She thought he liked her, and she really liked him too. She was so furious with him that she couldn't even think straight. She let a tear make it's way down her cheek and didn't even bother to wipe it away. The ring of her cell phone pulled her out of her thoughts. Without looking at the caller id, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Aelita, listen-"

"I don't want to talk to you," she said simply as she ended the call and shoved the phone back into her pocket. Did Jeremie really have the nerve to scream at her, then try to call her? Aelita kicked a rock and watched it rol a few steps away as she let another tear fall.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't answer," Jeremie admitted as he walked over to Aelita, who quickly tried to wipe away her tears. "And don't try to hide your tears, princess. I already saw them."

"Look, if you're here to yell at me for not answering, save it."

"No. Actually, I just wanted to apologize to you for everything I said. I didn't mean it, I was just stressed out about a lot of things. Ashleigh, Odd, and you seemed to be turning against me."

Aelita's eyes widened as she touched Jeremie's hand lightly. "Jeremie, I would never turn on you! And you know that Odd really likes this girl. It's just that you keep screaming at me and when you said you wish you didn't turn on that supercomputer.. It killed me.." Aelita confessed in a whisper.

Sucking in his breath, Jeremie leaned in and pressed his lips to Aelita's. When they pulled apart, Jeremie whispered, "I love you, princess."

"I love you too, Jeremie."


	8. Permanent Devirtualization

Once Aelita and Jeremie arrived at the factory again, they were suprised to see that X.A.N.A launched an attack.

"Head to the scanners. I'll start up the virtualization process," Jeremie informed as he walked over to his chair and sat down. He looked at the screen and spoke, :Ashleigh, Odd, how are you two doing?"

"Peachy," Odd spoke sarcastically. "We're being attacked by two megatanks and I'm all out of arrows."

"Alright, hang tight. I'm sending Aelita in now."

"Wait, where's Yumi and Ulrich?" Odd asked.

"Who knows. Now, Scanner, Aelita. Transfer, Aelita. Virtualization!"

Aelita came onto Lyoko and scanned the area. Spotting Ashleigh and Odd hiding behind a rock, she ran over to join them.

"Hey, guys," she greeted.

"Hey," Ashleigh and Odd responded.

"Okay, Odd, you have new arrows. But be careful, you only have 53 life points left," Jeremie warned.

"Thanks, Jeremie!" Odd thanked as he rolled out from his place behind the rock. "Laser arrow!" he shouted as the arrow shot out from him, devirtualizing one megatank..

"Nice going. Hey, Jeremie, what powers do I have?" Ashleigh asked curiously.

"You have a lot of powers. You can teleport, use force fields, see into the future, duplicate yourself, make yourself invisible, omnidirectional vision.. Ashleigh, I don't know why, but you have almost every super power there is."

"Ever super power there ist?" Ashleigh repeated.

"Yes-"

"Cool!" Ashleigh exclaimed as she ran forwards, straight up to the megatank.

"Um, you will roll into the digital sea!" she commanded. All of a sudden, the Megatank rolled over and fell into the digital sea.

"Woah! Jeremie, what just happened?" Odd demanded.

"When I said she had every power there is, I mean it. She just used Persuasion. It allows her to persuade her enemies to do whatever she wants."

"I love this place," she mumbled.

"Great. Now you can use your powers to quickly deactivate that tower before X.A.N.A destroys something on Earth."

Aelita, Ashleigh, and Odd ran straight down the path to the tower. Out of nowhere, the Scyphozoa appeared from behind Aelita, instantly grabbing her before she even had a chance to escape.

"Aelita! No!" Jeremie cried out.

(MEANWHILE)

After Ulrich apologized to Yumi, they both decided to head back over to the factory. Just then, the ground seemed to vibrate violently. Then, it all stopped.

"That's it? What a lame attack," Ulrich muttered. A few moments later, things began flying off the ground (i.e cars, stop signs, street lights, etc) and soon began flying into different directions.

"Okay, I take that back!" Ulrich exclaimed as he and Yumi dashed torwards the factory. But as they were close, a pole crashed into Yumi, sending her flying into a tree.

"Yumi!" Ulrich cried out as he went over to check up on her. She was knocked out, but still breathing. Ulrich flipped open his cell phone and dialed Jeremie's number.

"Jeremie! Hurry up and tell them to deactivate that tower! We're not doing so hot over here," Ulrich informed as he brushed Yumi's hair out of her face,

"That's going to be a little hard. Aelita's been possessed by X.A.N.A, so you're just going to have to hang on for a while," Jeremie snapped in frustration as he ended the call.

"Thanks a lot, Genius," Ulrich mumbled, holding Yumi close. He glanced up and saw a car heading down torwards. Swiftly and quickly, he sweeped Yumi up and darted away just in time.

(ON LYOKO)

Aelita walked towards Odd and Ashleigh and powered up her energy field, then shot it towards them. It managed to hit Odd, who yelped.

"Odd! 23 life points remaining!" Jeremie warned in frustration.

"Got it," Odd spat as he ran over to Ashleigh.

"I command you to stop!" she spoke to Aelita, who shot her with an energy field.

"Odd! Whatever you do, do NOT allow Aelita into the tower! She'll end up erasing the whole sector, and I still can't devirtualize Ashleigh!"

"So, that means-"

"Yes. She'll fall into the Digital Sea."

Ashleigh shrugged and looked around. "So what? I'll fall into the water. I'm a girl, not a cat."

"If you fall into the Digital Sea, you'll disappear forever," Odd informed with a frown.

Ashleigh's eyes filled with fear and pain. "Jeremie, can't you launch that program?"

"I am, but it's going to take some time. Meanwhile, try to stall Aelita."

"SHE JUST WENT IN!" Ashleigh shouted and tried to go after her, but Odd held her back.

"But I'm not finished yet!" Jeremie yelled back. Just then, Aelita fell from the tower, and the tower disappeared.

"I'm bringing you guys in!"

Aelita, Ashleigh, and Odd quickly darted for their lives as the entire sector began to disappear. A few moments later, Odd and Aelita found themselves in the scanner. Odd couldn't believe it. Where was Ashleigh? Confused, he ran up to the lab and looked at the screen.

"I'm sorry, Odd, but she fell into the digital sea.," Jeremie spoke softly in a sad tone.


	9. What?

It had been a week since Ashleigh fell somewhere in the digital sea. Jeremie had been searching for her nonstop on the network, but sadly, he found no trace of her. Aelita blamed herself for the whole incident, although Jeremie kept telling her that she had nothing to do with it. Why did she press that button? If she'd just let Jeremie peacefully wipe out her memory, then she would still be there with her. She sighed as she firmly clutched her doll, Mister Puck, in her hands and let a tear escape from her eye. She had been feeling awfully lonely, and knowing that Ashleigh wouldn't be there to comfort her when she had a nightmare made her feel even more sad.

To add on to the terrible news, Jeremie and the gang had to make up a lie to tell to her teachers. They said that she had been skipping school, much to everyone's suprise. Aelita wiped away her tears and buried her face into her pillow as she began to realize how awful Odd must have been feeling.

Ashleigh finally forgave Odd, but then she fell into the Digital Sea. It wasn't just Aelita who noticed Odd's weird behavior, but everyone noticed. He had been eating less, talking less, and laughing less. It seemed as if this incident was slowly eating him away inside, and in a way, it tore Aelita to pieces to see that her best friend was so heartbroken.

She had been locked in her room all day, since all classes were off for the day. She hadn't eaten or spoken at all. All she did was sob her eyes out, hoping that Jeremie would find a way to bring her friend back.

Slowly, Aelita sat up and looked around the room. She felt lightheaded, and figured that it was because she was crying so much that she became dehydrated.

"Okay, Aelita. You can either die from dehydration, or go get some water," she spoke to herself. She chose the second option and headed towards the door.

Twisting the door knob and flinging the door open, she stepped out into the hallway and shut the door behind her. Her mind raced with the events of what happened on Lyoko, and she almost broke out in tears again. She violently shook those thoughts out of her head and resumed walking down the hall.

She decided to check on Odd. She hasn't seen him as much as she used to, and as much as she hated to admit it, she really missed the annoying, witty, and so called charming Odd.

She walked out of the girls dorm hallway and entered the boys dorm hallway. This was it, she was about to see Odd. Never had she been so scared to talk to Odd. He was her best friend, for christ sakes! What kind of girl is scared of her own best friend? Aelita swallowed her fear and walked straight up to Odd's door. When she knocked on the door, she immediately regretted it,

"Come in!" Odd's unsually cheery voice sounded from the other side of the door.

Why was he so cheery for a guy who just lost the love of his life?

Aelita opened the door and walked in, not bothering to shut the door behind her.

Odd was so into the hand-held game that Aelita almost didn't want to bother him.

Almost.

"Odd? Are you feeling alright?" Aelita asked in a curious tone, eyeing him carefully. She noted how horrible he looked: his hair was a mess, his clothes were wrinkled, he had under eye bags, and he had been smiling excessively.

Aelita put it all together. Odd had been trying to force himself to move on and be happy, but Aelita saw right through him. She knew how badly he was hurting inside, even if he didn't show it on the outside.

"Yeah, I'm peachy!" he lied, smiling harder. Aelita was afraid that if he smiled any harder, his face would rip.

"Odd, cut it out! I can see how badly you're hurting, and I certainly don't believe your little charade!" Aelita snapped, but she regretted everything she said when she saw Odd wince.

"I'm sorry," Aelita apologized. She didn't want her words to come out so forced and harsh, but it was the only way to snap Odd back into reality.

"No, Aelita. You're right. All this time I was trying to act happy. I was trying to fill the empty void that Ashleigh left when she disappeared for good. I want to see her so bad, but she's never coming back, and it's all Jeremie's fault."

"No, Jeremie had nothing to do with this. If only I had ran from the Scyphozoa, if only I hadn't punched in that code.."

"If only Jeremie didn't get so mad at you and slam the keys, then Ashleigh's code wouldn't have gotten glitched," Odd spat bitterly.

Aelita's eyes widened. "What?" she nearly shouted. Did Jeremie really have her thinking that this whole situation was her fault?

"Yeah, didn't Einstein tell you? He accidentally hit a button that he wasn't supposed to and messed up Ashleigh's program while she was in Lyoko," Odd explained slowly.

Aelita's eyes welled up with tears. Why didn't he just tell her? She wouldn't have gotten mad at him, but now she was furious because he kept it from her. There was only one place Jeremie could be, and that was in the Lab.

She blinked back her tears and stood up. "I'm going over to the factory," she huffed as she turned around and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

She bolted towards the factory at full speed as if she were an upset girlfriend who found out her boyfriend was cheating on her.

After she went through the sewers, entered the factory, slid down the rope, and went into the elevator, she pressed the up-button, letting it take her to her destination.

When she finally entered the Lab, she spotted Jeremie sitting in his usual spot. She marched over to him and glanced at the screen. He was still searching the network, as if she would random appear.

"Jeremie-"

"Oh, hey, Aelita. If you've come to ask if I found anything, then the answer is still no," Jeremie informed, keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

"Why did you keep that from me?" Aelita skipped to the point, her eyes welling up with tears again.

Jeremie looked at Aelita in confusion. "Keep what from you?"

"You never told me that you hit a key you weren't supposed to. You messed up Ashleigh's code!" Aelita yelled as she bawled her hands up into a fist. Jeremie still look a bit baffled, but then realization hit him.

"Aelita, let me explain-"

"Go on, I'm waiting," Aelita pressed on, causing Jeremie to feel three times more uncomfortable than he already was.

"I-I kind of forgot. I didn't really think it meant that much, but I take full responsibility for it," Jeremie faltered slightly, looking into Aelita's eyes for forgiveness.

Somewhere inside him, he had a feeling that he wasn't getting any forgiveness.

Aelita turned around and hid her face, letting her tears fall.

"Princess, I'm so sorry," Jeremie apologized as he stood up from his seat and walked over to comfort Aelita. He held her close and rubbed her back in a circular motion.

"If only I didn't get so frustrated and hit that key, then Ashleigh would still be here," Jeremie mumbled as he pulled back and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Aelita wiped her tears away and cleared her throat. "I should have ran from the Scyphozoa. Why didn't I?"

Jeremie felt very uncomfortable holding Aelita the way he did, but at the same time, it was what he always desired. He always wanted to hold his true love in his arms, but not this way.

"Aelita, ever since I've laid eyes on you, I have had the hugest crush on you. Everytime you come near me, I get all nervous. When you and Odd kissed-"

"Fake kissed," Aelita corrected.

"Fake kissed," Jeremie repeated. "I found myself to be slightly jealous of him. Aelita, I love you," Jeremie confessed again.

Aelita instantly felt better as she smiled and grabbed Jeremie's hands, giving them a tiny squeeze. She honestly never thought Jeremie would master up the courage to tell her how he felt.

Again.

"Alright, I forgive you," Aelita remarked as she simply walked away. Jeremie smiled and watched as she went over to the elevator and waved goodbye.

Wait. He forgot to ask her out!

He mentally slap himself over and over again, clearly angry at himself. He made a mental note to ask her out later, but only after he found a way to bring Ashleigh back.

Aelita made her way back to Kadic, trying to find some sort of entertainment. She didn't feel like crying anymore, and she certainly didn't feel like going to her room again. She contemplated about going to Odd's room again, but then she spotted him and Ulrich walking and talking. She went over to join them.

"Hi," she greeted, waving slightly.

"Hey," they both acknowledged in unison.

"Did you talk to Einstein yet?" Odd asked in a mumble.

Aelita, sensing his anger, just simply nodded and looked at Ulrich. "Where are you two headed?"

"Lunch room," Ulrich responded. "Want to join us?"

"Sure, lunch sounds good right now," Aelita agreed.

So the three friends walked into the cafeteria, chatting aimlesssly. They grabbed their trays and waited in the line. When it was Odd's turn, he walked up to Rosa, the lunch lady.

"Hey, Rosa!" Odd greeted cheerfully.

"Odd! Long time no see! Where have you been?" she asked as she scooped up some mashed potatoes and dumped it onto his plate.

"I've just been hitting the books," Odd lied. "Oh, and Jeremie said I could have his portion."

Rosa nodded and scooped up more mashed potatoes and dumped it on top of the mashed potatoes she originally gave him.

"Thanks!" Odd exclaimed as he moved down in the line.

"Odd's unusually cheery today," Ulrich noted as he held out his tray to recieve his portion of mashed potatoes from Rosa.

"Yeah, but it's just his way of trying to move on," Aelita explained, also holding out her tray.

"Well, he's scaring me," Ulrich half-joked, picking up his tray and walking over to the group's usual table.

Aelita giggled as she set her tray down on the table and sat down across from Ulrich and Odd.

Ulrich watched as Odd began scarfing down his mashed potatoes, not bothering to slow down.

"Isn't that hot? It's fresh out the oven," Ulrich pointed out.

"Of course it's hot! It's scolding!" Odd exclaimed as he chowed down faster.

"Then slow down," Aelita said simply, but Odd didn't listen. He just kept eating faster until it was all gone.

"We warned you, Odd," Ulrich reminded him as Aelita burst into a giggle fit.

"Shut up," Odd retorted, smirking a little bit. Aelita smiled at that. It's been a while since she saw him smile.

Just then, Jeremie dashed in, huffing and out of breath. He leaned onto the table for support.

"I-I.." he tried to speak.

"You what?" Ulrich asked in confusion.

"I found Ashleigh," he admitted.


	10. Welcome home

Aelita's POV

Did I really hear Jeremie correctly? Did he really say Ashleigh was coming home? I honestly couldn't believe it. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I had to be dreaming because there was absolutely no way Ashleigh could still be alive after plunging into the digital sea.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, just to be sure. but he just gave me a reassuring nod.

"I'm positive," Jeremie confirmed, immediately settling me back into my happy mood. I watched as Odd jumped up and down like a child who ate too much candy. He was so happy that he gave Ulrich an I'm-so-happy-that-I-could-hug-you-and-never-let-go hug, only to be shoved off.

"That's fantastic!" Odd exclaimed. "Come on, Einstein! Take us to the factory! I want to see my girlfriend now!"

"Alright, alright," Jeremie gave in, flipping his phone open and dialing Yumi's number. He held the phone up to his ear and listened for an answer.

"Hey, Jeremie," we heard Yumi's voice through the phone

"Yumi, hurry up and meet us at the factory," Jeremie said urgently.

"Okay, but why the rush?" Yumi questioned.

"We found Ashleigh," Jeremie admitted proudly, beaming with pride. I smiled, delighted to know he actually felt proud about accomplishing something so major.

"Really? Wow, that's great! Alright, I'm on my way," she informed as she hung up.

We all then stood up from our chairs and bolted out of the cafeteria, not bothering to dump out our trays. I had a guess that Jim would get on our cases about that later, but who cares? I haven't been this excited in a while!

We met up with Yumi near the sewers. She was as happy as we were! I was so cheery that I thought I would explode with confetti. Once in the sewers, we hopped on our transportation and strode off towards the factory entrance. As we reached closer, my heart pounded so hard, which meant I was nervous. At least that's what Jeremie told me.

We took turns sliding down the loong rope that hung from high above the factory, then we crowded into the elevator, sliding up a floor. Jeremie got out of the elevator and went over to the computer. He typed in some sort of commands, then told us to quickly get to the scanner room. This was it. I was finally going to see Ashleigh again.

Ulrich nodded and hit the up-button, instantly taking us to the scanner room. This was the moment we've all been waiting for. We all ditched the elevator and crowded over to the middle scanner, having a feeling that Ashleigh would come out of that one. Luckily, we were right.

The scanner opened slowly, and there stood Ashleigh. She had her eyes closed as she collapsed forward, only to be caught by Odd and Ulrich.

"It's alright, Ash, we got you," Odd soothed as he stroked her hair, and I could tell he didn't want to let go.

"Ashleigh stood up and looked around, smiling. "It feels good to be back," she admitted as she hugged Odd tightly, inhaling his warm scent. They stayed like that for a few moments before they pulled back. Ashleigh turned to me and looked at me simply. I froze, feeling a bit scared. She raised her arms, trying to hug me, but I instinctively flinched, thinking she was going to hit me. She just snickered and hugged me in a friendly-manner. I hugged back and shed some tears of joy.

"Aelita," she acknowledged, catching a tear from my eye and observing it. "Why are you crying?"

I sniffed and wiped my tears away. "I'm just so happy to finally see you again," I admitted softly as more tears zoomed down my cheeks. That earned me another hug.

"I'm okay, really," I reassured them as I smiled.

"Ash, how did you manage to escape the digital sea?" Ulrich asked in confusion

"Allow me to explain that," Jeremie chimed in, coming from out of the elevator. "You see, Ashleigh contained a lot of supernatural forces, and she used one of them to revive herself. Hypothetically speaking, had it not been for her powers, she would not have been here today."

Everyone but Ashleigh and Aelita shot Jeremie a confused glance.

"English, please?" Odd said impatiently.

"Um, she used her powers to bring herself back," he said more simply.

"Yeah, he's right," Ashleigh confirmed as she hugged Yumi. "I forgot to hug you," she said.

"It's alright," Yumi said with a soft chuckle. Ashleigh let go and hugged Ulrich, then Jeremie, who blushed in suprise.

"It's my thank you hug," she said.

"Well, you're quite welcome," Jeremie remarked, pushing up his glasses again.

We walked back to Kadic, catching Ashleigh up on news around the school. As always, Sissi managed to pester Ulrich everytime she saw him, willing for him to "leave Yumi and settle for someone more real." I highly doubt that Sissi is better than Yumi. Besides that, nothing new really happened at Kadic. We spotted Milly sobbing her eyes out under a tree, being comforted by Tamiya. Ashleigh quickly ran over to her little sister and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong, little sis'?" she asked, looking into Milly's eyes. Milly's eyes grew wide with shock and happiness and she jumped forward and embraced Ashleigh in a sisterly manner.

"Where have you been? You had me worried sick! Why did you skip school? " Milly interrogated as she suspiciously eyed Ashleigh.

"I had to go look in every store to finally find this," Ashleigh confessed as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small locket. She then handed it to Milly, who accepted it. Milly opened the locket, and inside was a picture of Ashleigh and Milly when they were younger. Milly's eyes watered as she looked up at Ashleigh and gave her another hug.

"I love it! It's so pretty! Look, it even has a flower on it!" Milly exclaimed as she put the locket on.

"Okay, I need to go now, so see you later," Ashleigh said as she kissed Milly's cheek and departed.

"Where did you get that locket from?" Odd wondered.

"I took it from my house when I was mad at you guys. I had a strange feeling that it would come in handy," Ashleigh explained simply.

"Well, it's good to finally have you back," I said with a smile.

"It's good to be back," Ashleigh remarked, grinning in response.

The End :) 


End file.
